a tour of the backyard jungle.

When we first saw this place online we couldn't quite figure out the backyard. It looked like it extended pretty far back - at least two and half times the actual house size. It looked...overgrown...but other than that it was hard to tell what was what.

Now that I am here and have explored a bit, I am overwhelmed, but totally inspired by this space. Let me give you a quick tour...

The main living room opens up with sliding doors to the manicured section of the small lawn. We've added some patio furniture and a little rug for a cute outside sitting area. To the right, there is a brick area that eventually will get a picnic table or more outdoor seating. Paul will BBQ out here for sure.

That round thing is a fountain. I want a backyard fountain about as much as I want a backyard pool which is ZERO amount. ;) We will be taking out that fountain once Paul gets home and hopefully sticking an above ground fire pit in it's place.

To the opposite side of the house (the bedroom side) there is a gravel area that was marketed as "RV parking." We don't have an RV, but I appreciate the large sunny space very much and this summer, the space will serve as my container garden area. I am going with containers again this year because it's easy and I figure the more pregnant I get, the more I'll care about ease. Ideally, by next spring, we'll be able to plant directly into the ground and/or build some planter boxes.

Behind the manicured lawn section there is a little plot of slightly manicured succulents. This little hill area in front of the chain link fence holds oodles of different plants, but the trouble is finding them amidst the dried out gray bits.

I am currently in the process of weeding through the dead and giving the live stuff more room. The hope is that once the space has been cleared out, the good, green stuff will fill in nicely. We are also going to trim back some of those tree branches and just "fancy-up" the whole space. This is a spring project. I'd love to have this area looking nice by the time Paul gets home and the baby is here.

And then the real adventure begins beyond the chain-link fence.

Sometime, years ago, a stone path and pipe rails were added to make climbing up this hill a bit easier. It's not exactly pretty, but it's helpful, this hill is steep.

As you walk up, there are some good plants (like jade trees!) and some weeds and some junk lining both sides. I am not sure what exactly we'll do to make this space more functional, but surely something can be done.

Or hopefully something?

At the top of the little hill is a decent sized chunk of flat land. I would LOVE to make this the garden area in a few years. The issue will be getting water up here for the veggies, but there is an old hose on the ground so I have hope. This will be another Paul Project, so again, it's something we will not make progress on until next spring.

At the back of the property is another chain-link fence and a shed that truthfully I was scared to go into. My dad checked it out this weekend and turns out there was nothing but old newspapers. We're safe.

You can look down and see the back of the house from up here for some perspective.

Comments

a tour of the backyard jungle.

When we first saw this place online we couldn't quite figure out the backyard. It looked like it extended pretty far back - at least two and half times the actual house size. It looked...overgrown...but other than that it was hard to tell what was what.

Now that I am here and have explored a bit, I am overwhelmed, but totally inspired by this space. Let me give you a quick tour...

The main living room opens up with sliding doors to the manicured section of the small lawn. We've added some patio furniture and a little rug for a cute outside sitting area. To the right, there is a brick area that eventually will get a picnic table or more outdoor seating. Paul will BBQ out here for sure.

That round thing is a fountain. I want a backyard fountain about as much as I want a backyard pool which is ZERO amount. ;) We will be taking out that fountain once Paul gets home and hopefully sticking an above ground fire pit in it's place.

To the opposite side of the house (the bedroom side) there is a gravel area that was marketed as "RV parking." We don't have an RV, but I appreciate the large sunny space very much and this summer, the space will serve as my container garden area. I am going with containers again this year because it's easy and I figure the more pregnant I get, the more I'll care about ease. Ideally, by next spring, we'll be able to plant directly into the ground and/or build some planter boxes.

Behind the manicured lawn section there is a little plot of slightly manicured succulents. This little hill area in front of the chain link fence holds oodles of different plants, but the trouble is finding them amidst the dried out gray bits.

I am currently in the process of weeding through the dead and giving the live stuff more room. The hope is that once the space has been cleared out, the good, green stuff will fill in nicely. We are also going to trim back some of those tree branches and just "fancy-up" the whole space. This is a spring project. I'd love to have this area looking nice by the time Paul gets home and the baby is here.

And then the real adventure begins beyond the chain-link fence.

Sometime, years ago, a stone path and pipe rails were added to make climbing up this hill a bit easier. It's not exactly pretty, but it's helpful, this hill is steep.

As you walk up, there are some good plants (like jade trees!) and some weeds and some junk lining both sides. I am not sure what exactly we'll do to make this space more functional, but surely something can be done.

Or hopefully something?

At the top of the little hill is a decent sized chunk of flat land. I would LOVE to make this the garden area in a few years. The issue will be getting water up here for the veggies, but there is an old hose on the ground so I have hope. This will be another Paul Project, so again, it's something we will not make progress on until next spring.

At the back of the property is another chain-link fence and a shed that truthfully I was scared to go into. My dad checked it out this weekend and turns out there was nothing but old newspapers. We're safe.

You can look down and see the back of the house from up here for some perspective.

My name is Elise Blaha Cripe. I live in San Diego, California with my husband and our two young daughters.

I make stuff like it's my job.

In 2015 I launched GET TO WORK BOOK®, a daily planner + goal-setting journal. I also own a shop where I sell rad handmade items. For almost ten years, this blog is where I shared general life musings, insight into being a small business owner and the occasional craft project. I have recently switched my creative focus and no longer post here with any frequency. I am no longer monitoring comments, but please feel free to email me at elise[@]gettoworkbook.com if you have any questions about a post you see here.

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